"One small step for man - one giant leap for mankind" - Neil Armstrong's unforgettable words as he stepped off the Apollo 11 capsule and on to the moon. Thirty years on, the Apollo missions are the stuff of legend, and have inspired a generation to go on to explore further into outer space.

The Apollo missions were born from hurt pride: the Soviet Union was winning hands down in the race to the Moon. The United States finally took up the gauntlet, and issued a challenge that many thought impossible: to land the first man on the Moon's surface.

With these famous words, Mission Control in Houston breathed a sigh of relief. The Eagle - the capsule of Apollo 11 - had a heart-stopping last few minutes before touching down gently on the surface of the moon. It was the first time a spacecraft carrying human beings had ever visited another world.

Everyone who watched from Earth as Neil Armstrong stepped out of the capsule and on to the Moon remembers where they were at the time. It was one of the defining moments of the twentieth century, and one of man's greatest achievements.

When Apollo 11 returned to Earth, President Nixon said, "It's all over." The planned Apollo missions were scaled down, and only six more rockets would fly to the Moon. But the hundreds of kilograms of samples brought back by Project Apollo have told us how the Moon was formed, and how it can be exploited in the future.